Lost Along the Way(90)

“Yes, I think I will have a cup. Make sure the water is scalding hot. Half the time you make tea, I feel like I’m drinking dishwater.”

Cara went into the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. She leaned her elbows on the counter and let her head hang while she waited for it to whistle. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and you are most certainly desperate. She removed two mugs from the cabinet and dropped tea bags into both. She peeked into the living room and found Reed still sitting on the sofa, talking on his phone. When she was assured that he wasn’t going to surprise her in the kitchen, she removed the zip-lock bag from her pocket and placed the two small pills on a cutting board on the counter. With the back of a chef’s knife, she began to crush them, reducing them to a powder, and then dusted it into the bottom of his mug. She poured boiling water over it, watching it fizz and bubble and then, as Jane had promised, ultimately disappear.

She calmly picked up the mugs, the one with the crushed-up sleeping pills in her right hand, and carried them into the living room. She handed him his tea, took a sip from her own, and sat quietly on the sofa next to him. Jane had promised her that it wouldn’t take long, twenty minutes maybe, for the drugs to kick in. She could think of only one thing that could get her away from him while she waited for him to fall asleep. “I’m going to go upstairs to work out. You’re right. I should exercise more.”

“It’s about time,” he said as he took a slug from his drink.

“Do you mind if I use the StairMaster in your room?”

“By all means.”

Cara went upstairs and threw on a pair of yoga pants, a T-shirt, and sneakers and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She went into Reed’s room and climbed on the machine, not because she gave a shit about exercising but because she had so much nervous energy it was either that or pace the room. When fifteen minutes had passed, she hopped off, and skulked down the hallway. She paused and listened intently, but heard nothing. She must have waited three minutes at the top of the stairs, until she worked up the courage to creep down and check on him in the living room. When she did, she found him snoring on the couch, the empty mug on the table, the white powder now seeping into his bloodstream. She stood over him and clapped her hands loudly three times, but he didn’t even flinch. Satisfied that he was out cold, she said a prayer to her mother to help her get through this, then furiously typed two quick messages. The first was to Tabitha:

Something came up and we won’t be able to make the party on Friday, so don’t worry about picking us up. So sorry to miss it. Have fun!

Then she sent a text message to Jane.

Mission accomplished. You’re up.

“I don’t know how or why I let you guys talk me into this, but I’m reconsidering my decision. I don’t want to play anymore,” Nick said from the front seat of Meg’s car. “I don’t know why I agreed to be a part of this absolutely ridiculous idea.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but the fact is, you did agree and it’s too late to change your mind,” Jane said calmly as she stared out the window from the backseat.

“I really don’t want anything to do with this! I don’t know what I was thinking. I’d like to chalk my momentary lapse in judgment up to extreme boredom or the overabundance of crime drama on cable TV, but now that my common sense has returned I’d like to change my mind.”

“Sorry, buddy,” Meg said. “You’re in. Deal with it.”

“Come on, don’t let your nerves get the better of you,” Jane added.

“Have you lost your mind, Meg? Besides the fact that this is illegal, I will never be able to pull it off. The last time I tested my acting skills I was in grammar school and cast as a dancing bear in The Nutcracker. This is way out of my league.”

“You can’t back out now, Cara’s already inside. If you bail on us we’ll be screwed! It’s time to man up, Nick,” Meg said, attempting to be authoritative even though there was nothing authoritative about her.

Nick sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t! I want to help you, really, I do. But there’s no way in hell this guy is going to believe me. Look at me! I don’t even look the part.”

“That’s not true. You look very handsome in your suit. Powerful, commanding, manly,” Jane said.

“I’ve never come across as manly and I’ve never cared. Know your audience. You’ll have to do better than that,” Nick joked.

“I was trying to give you a compliment.”

“This guy is not an idiot. Why on earth do you think he’ll believe me?” Nick asked, panic noticeable in his voice.

“Because there’s no reason for him not to,” Jane said, as calm as ever. “Just use a bunch of big words and don’t get ruffled. He’ll be so blindsided by this whole thing he’ll believe you. Don’t give him too much credit. He’s not used to being challenged by anyone, certainly not Cara. He’ll be too stunned to really think about the specifics of anything. You can do this. Besides, I’m the one who has the hard job here. At least you get to keep your clothes on.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“We can do this,” Meg said. “If Cara can go through with her part, then it’s up to us to go through with ours. We aren’t leaving a man behind.”